Expert

Joan Maya Mazelis

Dr. Mazelis is an Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice, and an affiliated scholar at Rutgers-Camden’s Center for Urban Research and Education (CURE). She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mazelis specializes in the study of urban poverty and social ties, using qualitative interview methods to explore the meaning and understanding people have of their own situations. Her book, Surviving Poverty: Creating Sustainable Ties Among the Poor (2017, NYU Press), is based on her research in Philadelphia and demonstrates the importance of non-kin social ties that last.